Helen Elizabeth Charbonneau, 83, North Platte
by: Adams & Swanson Funeral Home - Mar. 1, 2025
Helen Elizabeth Charbonneau, 83, of North Platte, passed away Feb. 22, 2025 in North Platte.
She was born on May 17, 1941 to Christopher and Nickoleta (Terzakis) Regas in North Platte.
After high school graduation she worked one year to pay for college. She attended Duchesne All Girls College in Omaha for three years and then attended the College of St. Mary's in Omaha. While attending college, Helen carried 21 credit hours a year while working 40 hours a week at the hospital. She earned her RN degree in 1963.
Helen started her nursing career in Hastings, then in North Platte, Denver, Colo. and finally Seattle, Wash. where she met her future husband, John Charbonneau.
Helen was the very first traveling nurse. She never had any problem getting hired as a nurse. Whenever she interviewed for a nursing position, she was always hired before the interview was concluded. Her specialty was working the ICU and Burn Units. John and Helen moved to New Orleans, when John got a deep-sea diving job.
They later moved back to North Platte, where John began his career for the Union Pacific Railroad and Helen went to work at J.C. Penney's. Helen was known for her prolific shopping ability. She was capable of spending several hours in one store going through every clothes rack and shelf in the store. Helen loved animals both wild and domestic. She loved feeding the wild turkeys, squirrels and deer in her yard.
Some of the many places that Helen loved to travel were Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Venezuela, Netherlands, Budapest, Greece, Mexico, Norway, Germany, Yugoslavia, Austria, Greenland, Canada, China, France, all 50 states in the United States along with many other places.
Memorials are suggested to the North Platte Animal Shelter. Online condolences & live streaming of the service may be shared at Adams & Swanson Funeral Home www.adamsswanson.com.
Survivors include her husband John of 47 years, brother, Jim (Candy) Regas, Denver, Colo.; niece, Rebecca (Jeff) Lawrence, Marietta, Ga.; nephews, Christopher Regas, Denver, Colo., Troy (Deb) Regas, North Platte, Nebraska; great-nieces, Kendall, Ryder; great-nephews, Odin, Viktor, along with many other family members and friends.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Christopher and Nickoleta; and sister, Georgia Regas.
Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at Adams & Swanson Funeral Home with Chaplain Brenda Lee officiating. Burial will be at 1 p.m., following the service at Fort McPherson National Cemetery in Maxwell. Visitation will be held noon - 7 p.m., Monday, March 3, with family receiving friends 5-7 at Adams & Swanson Funeral Home.